


Take Us Back

by Lacunae_Umbra



Category: Stand Still Stay Silent
Genre: Author also working under head canons sorry, Cliche, First time in a while I actually finish something, First work - Freeform, Gen, How Do I Tag, The Author Regrets Nothing, The author doesn't speak english either, The author hasn't written a fanfic in years, The author needs the practice and confidence, Vague Mage Stuff
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-02-12
Updated: 2017-02-12
Packaged: 2018-09-23 20:15:57
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,483
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9674372
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Lacunae_Umbra/pseuds/Lacunae_Umbra
Summary: It must be the years setting into her bones, because Ensi can be possibly thinking about doing this... right?"Fuck this shit"She's totally doing this.





	

**Author's Note:**

> Hi! I'm not a known face around the forum, or the comment section, but I so love SSSS and I want to do something for myself and write something, and I'm stopping myself from thinking too much or I'll chicken out and post nothing.  
> Warning: english erros, headcanons, and probably two dimensional character.  
> I'm probably wrong, because Minna has and will always foil any theories I have about her comic, but that's like 80% the appeal of the story! I like getting surprised.  
> About the story: Ensi centric, silly headcanons, plot wise I think I forgot 90% of correct storyline, and of course, "time travel" (?) cliche. There's A Lack Of Certain Characters because, well, Beta timeline theory. And Ensi is a woman on a mission (and I'm lazy) so very little focus on anything but the goal.  
> Anyway, hope you get something out of this.

_Disclaimer: Stand Still Stay Silent belongs to Minna Sundberg._

_Tittle: Take us Back_

_Rating: Teen and Up - some swears here and there. No explicit violence._

_Category: Gen: Ensi is on a mission, so no particular relationships here._

_Words: 2,445_

_Status: Complete_

* * *

 

 

 

**_Take us back_ **

_._

In a very different world, there’re no children left to wander into a ridiculous quest into the unknown lands searching for books and glory outside the last remains of civilization.

There’s just Forest Daughter, old and bitter for her children and her children’s children had been taken from her. Such cruelty, leaving her alive while she sees the creatures that prey upon her kin and kind lust after the immunes, and killing the rest, taking everything from her.

They had left her for last, because she knows there’s power in the blood. She could be very well be an ally still. Not that she would, after feeling the parts of herself that she didn’t know she could lose ripped from her.

What do you call a parent after their children broke nature’s call and go to the beyond before them? And her grandchildren…

So no, Ensi is not in any way, shape, or form considering joining them in their quest to break the last hope there’s left in the world.

And you know what?, she thinks to herself one morning feeling the wind of change waking her up, and climbing down from the tree she had chosen to rest. I’m going to make this right, she says to herself.  She pats the tree, calling a farewell to the forest and goes back to her house. It’s the last time she’ll see this land. She tells herself, it’s for the world, but her heart will remain unapologetic, and will state calmly, fuck the world, it’s for me.

 She sends a message to dear baby cousin Taru. What a coincidence, she intones when Taru says she’s been thinking of calling, and oh, wouldn’t you like to hear about this new project I have been thinking about?

Taru probably didn’t expect to get her auntie to say she’s quite interested, she’ll get right to it. She had been hoping for maybe a cheap mage, hopefully the family tie would be enough? And greatly regrets that customs and manners stop her from calling out Ensi, because what good is an old sack of bones with tricks in the savage unknown world?

Ensi smiles to herself, Taru didn’t stand a chance. She would have showed up anyways. Encouraged by things going her way, she sets to discharge herself from military (consultant it says officially, but they all know that her experience is invaluable, and the first one to get into the thick of things when things go south. But the more the years go by, the more they stumble around with excuses. They want to put her in a glass cage. Honor her memory in life is what’s killing her, and the monster seems to take second place. Damn them), and it’s then when she encounters several obstacles.

She makes a big spectacle in front of several key persons, and then makes a show of falling apart. It’s her last request, going to expend her last moments with the last family she has. They wouldn’t deny her that, right?

She bites her tongue until she tastes blood, because it’s not all show. She’s old, she knows, but ego and the looks of the young ones have always made her be anything but perfect. She can deal making an illusion of weakness, but not knowing how real it is.

She plunges onwards despite it all. They want to accompany her. Ensi reminds them of her fragile ego. It’s just a travel, she could handle that by herself well enough, or have they forgotten how capable she is?

She hates how they bend with her words. Age seems to make anyone hesitating of contradicting her. It serves her purpose just right, so again she keeps moving.

The boat makes her feel like she’s leaving a part of herself behind, like all of her children. She refuses to talk to anyone and will throw up on anyone who comes too close. She reminds her goal, to give her strength. In the end it’s mostly spite.

There’s no Taru to greet her, but two very misty eyed Swedes. She knows. They started feeling threatened when she got moving, but she thinks it’s been a long time coming. They’ll regret taking her blood and feeding on it. She regrets getting Taru killed, but she’ll make it right. She’ll make it all right.

Or die trying.

Siv and Torbjörn are very apologetic, and trying to subtly imply she’s too old (and crazy savage – _this forest people!_ ) for the job without saying it out front and being sensible about such a recent lost.

She burst into tears (which for her is just about one or two well-placed salt water trails on her face, her cold eyes make her seem heartbroken with the tear, a shuddering breath) and she’s got them in the sack. Taru had been so excited about this project, and she really wanted to do right by her last wish!

They hesitantly bring her back to their house. There’s quite a lot of time before she has to take the train, and they need to check on the children.

She amusingly hangs back while the nanny quits, but does take a look at the children at the mention of changelings. She’s greeted by three curious pairs of eyes and too many questions. She can’t possibly catch all that.

Yet she tries. The three little ones insist on showcasing everything and anything, and she puts up with it, because the holes in her soul tingle enough to breathe a tiny bit of life back into her. This gives her strength. It doesn’t mean she doesn’t terrify the little monsters when they try to cut her hair. What kind of game is hair salon?

She subtly pries into the conversation of hushed tones of Torbjörn fighting with someone on that weird communication room she passed with the triplets at one point. Someone named Emil seems to be the key in the conversation.

When she reunites with the two adults, Siv’s eyes are puffy, and Torbjörn expression seems stormy. They shine brightly with concern and inner fire. She doesn’t ask about it, it seems they are family issues, and she remembers clearly how much she dislikes getting people to pry into her life.

They apologize and tell her how the expedition crew will not count with a cleanser. She tells them it’s fine, she has quite the grasp on talking to fire and convince it to mostly do what she says. Fire at the end of the day will do its own thing unless you burn yourself out along with it. She hasn’t survived this long just to start taking desperate measures now. Well, at least not right now anyways.

There’s a big uncomfortable silence from both swedes, and then they proceed to tell her the two crew members who totally have confirmed that they would be there, they wouldn’t fail the expedition...

Ensi has a great time just staring at the blondes and seeing them stutter until they get enough and call the time to leave.

Siv stayed with the kids, already tearing up and already going through papers looking for a future nanny, and Torbjörn just runs away from the door with her just behind. There’s a pang in her chest, and any type of expression wipes away from her face.

She would love to think unkind thoughts about this family, because they still have each other, while hers has been hunted down like prey. Their sin? Being hers. She wants to hate this godless Swedes. Why would they get to live while her family didn’t?!

There’s a moment she thinks of Ukko, and his gift to her. She takes a moment to breath through the pain, to settle her thoughts. It’s exactly what will save her family, what’ll make it right.

She looks up to the moon, and sings to the goddess Kuutar, a mournful cry to the departed, and may she bless this family please? Also, she wouldn’t mind, if such a gracious and kind night sky princess, would grant her safety in her travel until daylight comes. Just a humble suggestion though.

Torbjörn looks open mouthed at her, and she can see Kuutar shining on him. Things will change.

The train ride goes along without issue. Again she closes off to the call of the trapped in between, the torture of existing. She learnt long ago, you can’t save everyone. And she has a mission right now.

She meets Sigrun, a fiery red haired thing, and Mikkel, calm and deceiving like the tip of an iceberg. Tron eyes her like she should be on the other side of this expedition, organizing, not going on a suicide mission. Because that’s what it looks like, especially for someone her age.

She tells them in no uncertain terms that she single handed raised the known world Finnish mages, she was one of the first ones to hear the calling of the old gods and make something of it, and they better remember that.

They can taste the change in the air, and she probably looks a bit crazed, eyes lighted up with pent up energy.

Red says something about all young ones paper pushers being too scared and if the Old Lady wanted to meet her fate dying, she was welcome to! Apparently, they had tried to recruit more physically able people for the expedition, and failed miserably. Well, thought luck.

With such a little crew, they managed to get an almost nice vehicle. It looks like it could whist hand a hit or two, fortunately. They take their supplies, and off they go.

She makes on the first night a gift for her two companions.

Wear them at all times, she tells them, presenting the two necklaces with the wooden charms. They will ward off the ill willed and their actions from affecting you.

She takes the rest of the first week to protect their mobile tuna can, and bring blessings to their weapons. They’ll need it.

\----------------------------------

For her age, she’s quite the scout, especially because she doesn’t need to leave the tank to scout their routes. Quite the cool little trick, except it gets harder and harder to get back into her body, and connect back to reality each time she does. Her incredible passive face does do wonders about hiding those facts thankfully.

Each day, they get closer to her goal.

\---------------------------------

She ends up liking Mikkel’s dry sense of humor. Sigrun’s boisterous personality.

She likes them.

She regrets having to bring them along with her.

\----------------------------------

The little suffering ones they encounter barely deserve any mention. Ensi still makes sure to free and put to rest as much of them as she cans.

You can’t save them all. You can’t save everyone.

It just happens that she just wants to save a particular few.

\--------------------------------

Stop, she says one day. There’s a very interesting building, and she knows, this is it. She takes a while to convince them that she’s quite well, that they don’t need to go out with her.

She fails.

She has to trust her protection will hold true, please gods, don’t desert her or her friends now.

\----------------------------------

They know there’s something wrong with Old Lady (as Sigrun likes to call her), and have been for a while. Mikkel seems quite convinced she’s on the last moments of the journey of life. Sigrun thinks, maybe, but there’s something more.

Neither of them even considers in their wildest mental fantasies that it could involve facing of against the unknown world corruption made into something tangible and sentient, and the Old Fucking Lady is cursing it for killing her children.

Sigrun can’t help it. She fires right at the thing, but time and space seem to have become corroded and the bullet doesn’t seem to connect with anything. Or exist at all. At least Ensi snaps out of her rage enough to call them idiots and to tell them to fuck off. The charms around both of their necks respond to her voice, and both feel almost weightless for some reason they start walking back to the tanks, bodies outside their control, and into the influence of the protections.

Ensi sings to the sky, and it sounds more like a wounded animal’s dying wail.

It took our children, Ukko. They took our children. Let me right what has been wronged, just this once, Ukko – she then calls something else, lost against the sudden wind and lightening in the sky. Something soft and warm, a lover’s touch.

A serpent of light strikes her in a split second, and takes everything around the place. Everything explodes in a show of lights and fire.

After, there’s a tank, untouched, just some scorched marks where the protections used to be. Sigrun and Mikkel will not be able to explain with exactitude what happened.

But there won’t be any reason to.

\----------------------------

She breathes a gasp, and she knows the now is the past, the future a broken chain.

She knows there’s no time, fuck it all, she thought she may have gained a bit more of time than this. She thanks the gods still, better this than nothing. She regrets not taking more time to teach Lalli, or talking to Onni about how to handle him and not forget himself in the process. And Tuuri and her hunger for a world most hostile to her.

This is for them. She did it all for them.

No. For herself, her heart reminds her. She couldn’t take living knowing her children were dead, and her children’s children. There was no word for it, and just the yapping maw of a beast most unkind feeding on her soul and its missing pieces. So she sacrificed it all for this chance, to try and get them to live, to hide them a bit longer from this abomination eyes. They may have been the world’s hope because of their blood, but they were always her only hope.

She smiles when feels her younger body, and goes all out. She has to set protections, she has to put up the resources they’ll need. She’ll save the last remaining pieces of her family with everything she has, and when she’s done getting that done, she’ll set out to meet her fate, so she can sate the monster that preys on them all, to give them some years to grow, to learn, and find themselves the allies needed to make the world right.

But she did make it right, she knows her little ones are now breathing, and her dying breath will ensure they’ll keep on living much more.

 

.

**_Fin_ **

**Author's Note:**

> Yeah, that's it.  
> Hope you enjoyed (?)   
> If you have any suggestions about the writting, or the plot holes, or any constructive thought about it, be welcomed to the comments.  
> Or not, I'm not the boss of you.  
> I hope to see you all again on a new story in the near future~


End file.
